The Tale of a Falling Star
by QueenChessmon
Summary: After literally plummeting into an unfamiliar realm, Black Star and Tsubaki find themselves at odds with some of the inhabitants, particularly an obnoxious, yellow haired ninja.
1. A Questionable Scroll

**I don't own Soul Eater or Naruto.**

* * *

Tsubaki crept around the DWMA's grand library, trying not to disturb anyone. The well-endowed demon weapon kept her long black hair tied in a high pony tail that swished from side to side. She wore a sleeveless white top with stiches down the middle, blue shorts, and black shoes. Her long legs were covered in unusual black stockings. One was a long and black, while the other appeared to only be several black bands. Her arms were covered in bandages.

She glanced at her not-so-quiet partner who was leading the way, dragging her through the library. In comparison, the 15 year old meister appeared to be trying to get everyone's attention. His spikey blue hair bounced up and down to match his bouncing figure. He wore blue pants, white shoes, a sleeveless white muscle shirt, a long white scarf, and bandages on his arms, and as of now was yelling his head off.

"Hey! Guess who's here! It's me! Black Star! The star of the DWMA!" He yelled.

"Shh…" Tsubaki replied, trying not to attract even more attention, "This is a library, Black Star. We are supposed to be quiet."

"Tsubaki! I can't help being a star! But if we're supposed to be quiet, I guess I can make an exception!" he now whisper-yelled.

Tsubaki guessed that he assumed that his whisper-yelling was quiet and she didn't want to contradict him. She glanced around. Other students were staring from various wooden tables throughout the library with almost an obligatory interest. Black Star, like Tsubaki was a member of the elite meister unit of Spartoi. This commanded an unusual respect from their fellow students. It made Tsubaki uncomfortable sometimes, but Black Star adored it.

Looking at her partner, she couldn't help but marvel about how much he changed. Some people wouldn't notice it, sure. After all, he was still loud and wild, but she did. He seemed more worldly, more understanding; but he never left his optimistic personality. His appearance changed as well, he had more scars. The most distinct scar went through his Star Clan tattoo. A friend of theirs Kim, a pink-haired witch, had offered to heal it. Strangely, Black Star refused. Tsubaki wasn't quite sure why, but she didn't pry. Black Star also had grown taller. He was about her size, now.

They continued their stroll through the enormous library. It was composed of several floors corresponding with the levels of the books. Only certain people were allowed on each level. Most students were only allowed on level one, the ground floor. It seemed enough to Tsubaki. The bookshelves stretched to the ceiling, with a seemingly limitless supply of books. She wondered where all the books had come from. Some had looked like ancient scrolls. If they were so much as touched, they would turn to dust—secrets lost from the world forever. Others were new magazines sometimes featuring DWMA students who participate in other, newsworthy things.

Black Star turned suddenly to an inconspicuous shelf. His grip was now slack on her wrist. Tsubaki bumped into him. He didn't notice. Tsubaki moved to see what he was staring at. It was a scroll wedged on top of a book. He pulled it out. One end had that star symbol of his clan while the other had a symbol the resembled a leaf.

"Let's go have a look, Tsubaki." He said, approaching an unoccupied wooden desk.

She followed. He set it on the table and slowly opened it. She peered over his shoulder and loosened her long black scarf.

"What does it say?" She began, "Does it—"

Tsubaki was suddenly interrupted by a loud quaking noise. Coming from the scroll was a portal, not unlike the Book of Eibon. She suddenly had a very bad feeling. The other students stood at alarm, many already brandishing their weapons. She grabbed Black Star by his white scarf in an attempt to stop him from being sucked in. The only thing the maneuver achieved was sucking Tsubaki in as well.

They fell through a strangely monochrome hole, thrashing and flailing. The shades of gray danced around them. The hole itself expanded after a couple of seconds, revealing a forest landscape bordered by a river. Black Star had already regained control and was falling at a controlled pace. Tsubaki did not. She was falling at an alarming rate. Tsubaki plummeted into a large tree and then it was all black.


	2. A Crazy Flower Enthusiast

Naruto Uzumaki crouched in the tree, silently waiting for his partner's sign. His partner Sakura Haruno, a pink-haired kunoichi, was hunched down next to him. Her red top, black shorts, and short pink apron skirt did not make her exactly inconspicuous in the muted greens of the forest, but Naruto couldn't really say anything since he was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. He ran a hand through his slightly spiky, blond hair and wondered what could be taking so long for her to decide when to move. This wasn't really a mission anyway.

"This is so dumb..." He muttered.

Sakura shot him a look.

"If you hadn't gotten in a fight at the ramen stand, we wouldn't have to do this." She hissed.

"That guy said that Ramen Ichiraku sucked," Naruto began, his blue eyes flashing at the memory, "I couldn't stand to let that go by!"

Their targets, two boys from the academy, looked for the source of the noise. Lady Tsunade was in a bad mood and decided that all four of them needed to be punished. The two boys were in trouble because they were frequently playing hookey, so they would get the shit scared out of them by two ninja. Sakura needed to learn to control herself around idiots; Lady Tsunade decided after Sakura sent Naruto flying into a wall. More specifically, the wall of a bath house. A bath house that Lady Tsuande had been relaxing in. Naruto peeped. Even by accident, it was worth punishing..

"TSUBAKI!" A guy's voice screeched, somewhere deep within the forest, "WHERE ARE YOU! A BIG GUY LIKE ME CAN'T FIND YOU ALL BY MYSELF!"

Naruto and Sakura exchanged looks, why was a big guy screaming about a flower. It wasn't even the season for Tsubaki flowers, also known as Camellias. Naruto assumed that the guy must be crazy. He gave a small smile. Maybe these kids might get the shit scared out of them by a real threat. Maybe, he might get a real fight...

The boys' eyes were enormous as they looked at Naruto and Sakura. Naruto frowned. He didn't believe that he looked that threatening. Sakura was another story. Sakura followed the two boys' line of sight. With that, her own green eyes widened as well. Naruto turned slowly. He couldn't guess what was behind them. Maybe it was that big guy who was screaming before, or monster perhaps, maybe even a ghost of some sort.

He would have never guessed that it would be a bleeding and bruised girl about their own age, in a nearby tree entangled by the branches. Her long, dark hair was coming out of her pony tail. She blinked slowly, revealing weary blue eyes. Sakura lept into the girl's tree, and slowly began to maneuver her out of the tree. Before Naruto followed suit, he glanced down at their targets. He snorted. The boys had fled back to the village. He supposed that the not-really-a-mission was technically a success.

Sakura had made good progress in that short amount of time. She had gotten the girl out of the tree and placed her on the forest floor. Naruto hopped off the tree and landed behind Sakura. He touched her shoulder.

"Is there anything you need me to do?" He whispered.

She answered without bothering to turn her head, "Will you hold her upright, so I can begin to heal her wounds."

Naruto complied with her request silently.

As he moved into position, he asked, "What could have done this?"

Sakura gave a measured breath before answering, "Her wounds suggest that she had fallen into this tree from a high place, but the idea is ridiculous. This is one of the highest trees in the forest."

Naruto didn't bother to answer. His knowledge of wounds was rudimentary at best so he wasn't qualified to dispute her hypothesis. The girl seemed in rough shape. Her breathing was ragged and wounds seemed deep, but Sakura was already beginning to work her medical ninjutsu skills. He had faith in her abilities. The girl herself didn't seem to be much of a fighter, as she only had a few scars, but she was dressed much like a ninja and appeared to be very fit. Before he could delve into too much thought about the girl resting in his arms, a boy burst through the forest foliage.

"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY WEAPON!" The boy bellowed.

He was the same one yelling about the flowers. Now he was yelling about an invisible weapon. Naruto looked like he was right about the insanity theory. The boy had unusual blue hair and was dressed like a ninja. With muscles, scars, and a hand that was sparking with electricity, Naruto certainly knew that this one was a fighter.

"Sakura," He started as he stood up, "You heal the girl and try to get her back to the village. I'll hold this psycho off."

"Right," She replied.

This time she did look back and smile.

Naruto braced himself for the battle about to come.


	3. Bloody OCD

Death the Kid burst through the double doors of the DWMA's library. His twin weapon partners Liz and Patty—well-endowed, tall, blonde-haired girls—were already in their silver, twin pistol weapon forms. He launched himself into the air, aiming for the table with Black Star's scroll. Kid's black hair with white asymmetrical stripes fell perfectly into place as he landed. Maka, a fellow Spartoi member, was already there with Soul, weapon partner, lurking close by. She crossed her arms over her white trench coat, slowly shaking her head. Her ash-blonde hair, tied in two pony tails, shook in the process.

"Great," She muttered, "What has Black Star done this time? And he got Tsubaki stuck in this mess too."

"Not cool…" Soul added, slouching in his white dress shirt and blue pants.

"Where did they go?!" Kid demanded.

He glanced down, making sure his white dress shirt, black tie, a white sports jacket, with a white suit jacket over it, navy pants and white shoes. All of these had to be perfectly symmetrical and immaculate. Kid felt blood rush out of his nose. The OCDness had begun.

_Was anything asymmetrical? WAS IT ASYMMETRICAL? WAS IT?_

Liz and Patty leapt out of their weapon forms behind Kid, revealing two teenage girls with varying hair lengths, wearing zip-up tops over a blue vest and a white sports jacket over it, with one wearing a blue pleated skirt and another in puffy shorts. He whipped around and looked at them.

_Were their clothes symmetrical? _He had gotten over their appearances, but they still had to have symmetrical clothes. He had began hyperventilating, the blood rushing faster.

"Kid!" Liz began over Patty's loud giggles, "What are you doing? This is serious!"

Her voice snapped Kid out of it. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose. Patty's giggles began to die down and she changed to an expression somewhat akin to seriousness.

"Right, Maka," He said, looking at the meister, "Where you here when the incident occurred?"

Maka flushed, "Actually, I was in the bathroom. Soul was here, though."

They all looked at Soul expectantly. The death scythe ran a hand through his white hair as he leaned against a nearby bookshelf.

"I wasn't really paying attention, but you can't really ignore Black Star." He began, "I saw them come in and Black Star was yelling something. I saw him grab the scroll," He pointed to the scroll on the desk. "And then put it on the desk. Next thing I knew, the ground started shaking and they got sucked in." He grimaced, "So uncool."

Death the Kid began to wonder if they would ever find Black Star and Tsubaki.


	4. Not So Inconspicuous

Black Star looked over to where Tsubaki lay, her head resting on the lap of a pink haired girl. In front of him was one of the most obnoxious people Black Star had ever seen. The person wore an indiscreet black and orange jumpsuit and had spiky blonde hair.

Black Star had never met someone who looked so loud. That could only mean one thing: This boy was trying to upstage him, trying to be the bigger star.

He could not allow that.

"Who the hell are you?" Black Star asked, sizing up his opponent.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," the boy announced, drawing a kunai. "And I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

"Haha!" Black Star laughed partially at Naruto and partially at the puny weapon. "I'm Black Star, and I'm going to surpass God!"

"Oh really?" Naruto asked, his own anger sparking.

Two sets of angry blue eyes bored into one another.

"Yeah! Tell me what you've done to my weapon!" Black Star demanded.

"What weapon?" Naruto asked.

"Tsubaki of course!" Black Star exclaimed.

"And now you're going on about the flower again," Naruto muttered, running a hand through his blond hair.

"She's not a flower! She's just named after one!"

"That's stupid!"

"Don't talk about my weapon like that! Now, tell me what you've done to her!"

The pink-haired girl spoke, sounding strangely professional compared to the pissing match between the two boys, "She fell out of the sky and into a tree. I'm working on her now, but she'll need to go back to our village for comprehensive medical care."

"Wait," Naruto, whisper shouted to the pink-haired girl, "Sakura, they could be dangerous. Do you think it's safe?"

"It's what Lady Tsunade would do." The girl Sakura replied, somewhat snootily, "Besides, I need supplies that I don't have on hand."

Naruto grunted, "Who cares what that Granny Tsunade does! They could be a threat! What about Kakashi? What would he think?"

"Those names mean nothing to me!" Black Star shouted, charging at Naruto.

"I won't lose!" Naruto yelled back, running at Black Star.

The met in the middle, Black Star deflecting Naruto's kunai with his hand guard. Both boys leapt back. Naruto made an unusual sign with his hand while yelling, "Multi-shadow clone jutsu!"

Suddenly, the single blond-haired boy became many. Black Star wasn't a fan of any kind of math so he didn't bother to count.

They all attacked simultaneously. Without help from Tsubaki, Black Star had to use his Soul Force. Hands crackling with energy, he began to fend off the clones. Theses clones weren't very good fighters, but there were many.

The battle led them further into the forest. Soon, Black Star could no longer see Tsubaki and Sakura. He hoped that Tsubaki was okay. With surprisingly little fanfare, Black Star had successfully defeated all the clones.

"Rasengan!"

With a sudden burst of speed, Black Star barely dodged the attack. Two Narutos had powered up while he was fighting the other clones. Two became one, and that one had dealt devastating damage to the forest battle field.

"Black Star Big Wave!" Black Star came back with his own attack, getting close enough to hit the solar plexus.

The irritating boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn, another clone." Black Star muttered.

The wooshing sound of energy caught Black Star's attention. He steadied his own attack, though increasing the power.

"RASENGAN!"

"BLACK STAR BIG WAVE!"

The boys met in a rush. Blue and yellow. The magnitude of the attack caused an explosion.

The massive explosion downed hundreds of trees, creating a crater in the ground that was half a mile wide. Sakura and Tsubaki had been mercifully spared, and were now at the edge of the crater. With no trees, the view of them should have been clear, but overlaying dust was making it difficult to see.

The explosion, surprisingly, had not caused Tsubaki to stir.

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura called, "Look what you did!"

Naruto, despite being on the ground and barely conscious, still managed to look sheepish at the comment. Ten feet away, Black Star barely acknowledged exchange. It was a shame he couldn't move. Other ninja—or at least he thought they were ninja—approached. His vision began to blur.

The group landed between them. A mature-looking boy with surprisingly long hair and creepy eyes surveyed them, followed by a boy with a dark bowl cut and a terrifyingly green jumpsuit, a girl with her brown hair in twin buns who was carrying a large scroll, and an incredibly pale boy riding on what looked like a picture of a bird. And Black Star was not making any of this up.

"I always knew Naruto would do something this idiotic," The serious boy muttered, those unusual eyes narrowed, "Let's take all of them back to the village."

"Yeah, the damage is kind of ridiculous." The bun girl added.

"How youthful!" Green jumpsuit yelled while picking up Tsubaki.

"Be careful," Sakura instructed him.

Or at least he thought it was Sakura. Black Star's hearing had begun to go funny. The once foresty landscape had turned to white, then black and the voices had become nothing but static. What had that attack done to him?


	5. Idiots and Hospital Visits

Neji led the way through the forest and the dirt that replaced the destroyed parts. He leapt through what was left of the trees and was thankful that Konoha, the village, was so close and that this forest did not belong to the Nara Clan. If it was, then his team would have to deal with some very angry deer.

Neji's teammate Rock Lee who had a terrible bowl cut, but a gift for taijutsu carried the girl with dark hair. Tenten, the only female member of the team, was currently debriefing Sakura, and they were laughing about the fight. Finally, Sai carried Naruto and the boy frighteningly like Naruto—from what Neji saw of the fight—in his ink bird. Sai's dark hair fluttered in the wind to a lesser extent than Neji's.

They made it to the village in little time and even less fanfare. Neji landed first at the border station: a stand at the edge of the village. The usual guards were not there, and in their place were some of his friends. One was Ino, a blond haired kunoichi who wore purple. The other was Choji, a large ninja with long, spikey blond hair and red plated armor. The rest of the group landed soon after. Sai's ink bird caused a minor sandstorm while descending. It made the ninja on the ground shield their eyes from the sand and dirt. Ino and Choji moved from behind the stand and approached the group and their unconscious friends.

"Whoa," Ino said, peering at the girl held in Lee's arms, "What happened?"

Sakura hit the still-unconscious Naruto on Sai's ink bird, "Naruto's an idiot, and he met someone just as stupid."

"Exactly," Neji agreed, "My team, along with Sai, merely noticed the fight and retrieved the aforementioned idiots."

"Seems like it would be a big one," Choji muttered while scratching his head.

"Hey, where's Shikamaru?" Tenten asked, adjusting the scroll on her back, "Is he hiding from work?"

"He's at a meeting with the Hokage. Something about the Sand Village. You know, if its about the Sand Village, he's all over it," Ino answered rolling her blue eyes, "So are the usual guards, not for the same reasons though. That's why we're here."

"Not that I haven't enjoyed our chat, but we need to take them to the hospital." Sakura told the group while gesturing to the unconscious ninjas.

"Sakura…"Ino said playfully, "I thought you were a big bad medical ninja now. I guess not since you can't even heal these knuckleheads!"

"Hey!" Sakura retorted tossing her pink hair, "At least I had a REAL mission, not stupid guard duty!"

The rest of the group stood in an awkward silence as the female ninjas continued their spat. Choji ate some chips, Rock Lee did some stretches, Tenten started sharpening her weapons, and Sai pulled out a small book and began to draw. Neji stood among impassively.

"So protecting the village is stupid now? Wait 'til Lady Tsunade hears about this!" Ino chortled.

"Anything's stupid if you're doing it! In fact—"

"Enough," Neji cut in before the kunoichis could do anything violent, "Tenten and Sakura, come with me. We'll report to the Hokage. Lee, Sai can you take them to the hospital?"

"On it!" Lee answered joyfully, as he shifted the girl in his arms.

He led the way—leaping on the rooftops. Sai followed suit, and his ink creation flew on overhead. The remaining members said their somewhat tense goodbyes and readied themselves to leave.

"Follow me," Neji told the girls as he took off in the direction of the Hokage.

Lee and Sai made it to the Konoha Hospital. It was made of a dark wood-rebuilt after an attack. Luckily it still served its purpose well.

"I'll go in and request assistance!" Lee told Sai as the ink bird landed, "After all, you cannot perform medical ninjutsu, and I can't perform any ninjutsu!"

"Right," Sai replied with a smile.

Lee sauntered in-pushing the door with his hip as he held the girl in his arms.

"I require assistance!" He yelled to everyone.

One medical ninja drew the girl out of his hands. As other medical ninjas produced two stretchers and swarmed outside to help Sai, Lee heard a very distinct sigh. This sigh belonged to Kakashi Sensei, a powerful ninja with silver hair who wore dark clothes, a flack vest, and his headband along with his mask covered up one eye. His eye was focused intensely on a book.

"Naruto?" He asked the one worded question without lifting his gaze.

"Yes Kakashi Sensei!" Lee replied enthusiastically.

"Hm." Kakashi turned back to his novel; apparently it was more interesting.

Sai followed the medical ninjas inside. He raised a hand in greeting to Kakashi. Kakashi gave a small nod, but his gaze did not lift from the novel. Kakashi stood up abruptly and tucked his book in a pocket as the stretcher containing the blue-haired kid passed by. Kakashi stopped the medical ninjas carrying the stretcher with an outstretched palm. He peered closely at the boy's arm. It had a tattoo of a star on it; the star had a scar running through it. That was unusual as the boy didn't look old enough to have tattoos. What he saw seemed to displease him. Sai and Lee moved closer-hoping to see what was so interesting. Lee didn't really know what was going on. Neither did Sai.

Kakashi turned to the two ninja, "Go and tell Lady Tsunade," He began shakily, "That Star Clan was not entirely wiped out."


	6. Searching and Storytime

"There has to be something… anything," Maka murmured, pawing through the DWMA's library.

They were in an almost secretive corner of the library—rarely ever visited. It was a cloudy day; weak light poured into the small space. It was a melancholy atmosphere. Soul stood behind her, leaning on a nearby table. His mouth was set in a frown and his red eyes were narrowed with worry.

"Maka," He started, stepping forward and putting a hand on her shoulder, "You've been at this for days. If there was something there, you would have found it."

Maka turned to him, green eyes brimming with tears and said, "Soul. What if I've missed it? The scroll might have vanished, but there has to be something left."

"Maka. You haven't slept. At all. Let me take you home so you can get some sleep. You can start again when you've had some sleep."

"No. Not until Black Star and Tsubaki are back."

"Don't be uncool."

"That's not even a proper response!" Maka yelled turning quickly towards him.

She raised a gloved hand, one of the books was held firmly in it. Soul immediately tried to back up and held his arms up in defense.

"Enough," A monotone voice came from behind him, "Or wait. Are you kids having a moment?"

Maka and Soul jumped. They snapped their head to the source, and grimaced inwardly. It was their teacher Professor Stein, a tall man with silver hair and round classes. His lab coat—and just about everything he owned was covered in stitches. The most striking thing about him, though, was the _giant screw sticking out of his head. _

Maka regained her composure first, "Professor Stein, did you find anything?"

"I did." He replied, glasses glinting in the light, "You kids come with me."

He led them out of the library and down the hall. Soon, they path turned very familiar.

"Hey, Professor Stein," Soul started, looking up at him as Maka stared on absentmindedly, "Are we going to the Death Room?"

"How observant. Yes, you are correct," He answered as they walked through the tunnel of torii gates.

Eventually they made it to the Death Room. It was dome-shaped with a bright blue sky filled with floating cloud in the sky with a few on the desert-looking ground. A full-sized mirror was set on a small plateau rising from the ground. Much of seemingly infinite ground was covered in crosses. Lord Death was waiting for them with a couch that was not there the last time the pair visited. The comical-looking grim reaper had a black cloak and a nonthreatening white mask that was currently wearing a serious expression. One large, white hand unfurled from the cloak. He waved.

"Hiya! Alrighty, I've gathered you two here for something very important," He said as Maka and Soul leaned forward, "I've gathered you here to tell you a story."

The weapon-meister pair seemed to deflate. Ignoring them, the grim reaper instructed them to sit on the red couch. They did dejectedly. Unperturbed, Professor Stein took out a cigarette, lit it and took a long drag. He leaned against the arm of the couch.

Lord Death began, "We've seen this before, you know. Actually, I was well aware that there was the scroll capable of teleporting someone in the library."

"What?" Soul interrupted, standing up, "Why'd you keep it in there—"

*Shinigami Chop!* Soul was met with the crushing force of Lord Death's chop. He crumpled to the ground.

"How's about you let me finish the story." Lord Death said smugly as Soul dragged himself on to the couch; Maka looked on— more interested in the story than her partner's possible brain damage.

"Indeed," Professor Stein added, "The scroll would only work on a member of the Star Clan. Tsubaki was dragged in because she was Black Star's weapon."

"Stein is correct. The scroll was created for members of Star Clan, but let's start at the beginning. You know of the Star Clan." Lord Death asked as Soul and Maka nodded, "They were a family of assassins, dedicated only to obtaining more power, eradicated many years ago due to their madness of power. They chose the Path of the Demon, all trying to turn into kishins. There was only one survivor: Black Star. It was a very difficult battle, and many meisters and their weapons died in the clash.

The members of Star Clan were all deadly and powerful—so powerful and willing to kill just about anything that they attracted the attention of a witch. Harlen, the rabbit witch, a witch skilled in teleportation. She had made a home for herself in a foreign world, but a witch's soul is so unique that I could track it from here. As almost all witches have a desire to create madness, Harlen deemed it necessary to bring madness to that world. She promised Star Clan pay and had them wreak havoc in that world—slaughtering and devouring the souls of their victims. We were unable to help. We could not manage to find a way into that world. Somehow the inhabitants of that world managed to drive Star Clan out. They didn't catch Harlen though; witches are much too clever to be caught like that.

The fear of failure was instilled in all members of Star Clan since birth. This loss made sure that they were all now completely insane. On our side, we captured and killed the remaining members. We chose to save Black Star because he was not old enough to be a part of that madness. There we go. That's the end of that story." Lord Death turned, and began to go to his mirror.

"But wait! Lord Death," Maka started, running up to him, "What can we do for Black Star and Tsubaki?"

"Hope they don't get recognized is one thing," He muttered.

"Seriously, Lord Death," Maka's eyes pleaded with him.

He gave a sigh, "Get some rest. Maybe there'll be a mission for you tomorrow that will help us reach Black Star and Tsubaki, okay?"

"Yes!" Maka jumped up and down, "C'mon Soul. Let's go home."

Soul laughed and said, "That's what I've been telling you all day."

The pair exited the Death Room and began to head home.

"Lord Death," Professor Stein asked, standing up, "Do you think they'll be ready when the time comes?"

"Black Star and Tsubaki or Maka and Soul?"

"Both."

"I can only hope so."

"What about Kid and Liz and Patty?"

"Kid's a shinigami; he'll cause too much of a disturbance in that world. I was hoping you'd go instead. The kids could use an adult."

Stein took a long drag of his cigarette before answering, "We'll see."

"I'll send Death Scythe as well. We still don't know what's on the other side."

"Are you sure? What if we don't come back?"

"Don't talk like that."

And with that, Stein exited the room and presumably dissected something.


	7. A Drink Might Be Needed

Lady Tsunade sat at her desk while absentmindedly skimming through a report while her assistant Shizune stood nearby. She bit back a sigh as she glanced at the enormous pile to her left—almost completely blocking her view. First the unexplained explosion and now this. She needed a drink. Eyeing what she could see of Shizune, Lady Tsunade slowly reached for her sake cabinet. Although it was argued that having such things is not fit for a Hokage, Tsunade couldn't care less.

Just as her hand began to grasp the handle, several ninjas walked in: Neji Hyūga led the way and Sakura Haruno and Tenten followed.

"Hello." Shizune welcomed the group.

"What is it?" Tsunade demanded, "Wait, first, where is Naruto?"

"Sorry Milady." Sakura began sheepishly, "Naruto got in a fight, but the mission was a success."

"The whole point of the mission was to teach the two of you not to get in pointless fights." Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh while Sakura bowed her head in apology, "Was there any damage?"

Tenten spoke from Sakura's left, "Just an explosion and three unconscious people."

"Including Naruto." Neji added in his solemn tone.

"Anything serious, Sakura?" Tsunade inquired.

"No Milady, but it did warrant a hospital visit."

"Who are the other injured, the academy kids?"

"No Milady. A boy and girl—possibly ninjas. The girl was unconscious when we approached the scene; the boy engaged Naruto."

Lady Tsunade's hand crept towards the sake again. The other ninja stood erect as they waited for instructions.

"Sakura, you are dismissed to the hospital. Check on Naruto and our other guests." She commanded.

"Yes, Milady." Sakura said and dashed out of the building.

"Tenten, Neji. Provide me with the details." Tsunade instructed.

The ninjas gave a quick report; well, Neji did. He provided primary information that he himself saw and details provided to him by Sakura. Tenten merely added minor details. As the tale continued, Tsunade became troubled. When Tenten added that Sakura thought that the girl fell from a high place, but that there was no higher ground, the Hokage let out a small gasp. Coincidently, as soon as the report finished, a ninja burst through the room in an array of smoke and spandex. This consequently launched all the paper in the air. Paper rained down as the ninja was followed closely by another ninja who came in silently.

Neji turned to the new arrivals, "Lee, Sai. Why did you leave the hospital?"

Sai answered for them, "The occupants are safe, but Kakashi demanded we come here."

"Why?" Tsunade asked warily as she rose from her desk.

"He said something about a Star Clan!" Lee yelled, throwing his arms in the air

"What!?" Tsunade roared as Shizune gasped.

The group of ninja took a step back. They had never seen the Hokage so panicked.

"Who is the Star Clan?" Neji asked, ever calm.

"They should be dead." Tsunade said bitterly.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Tenten asked.

Lee nodded his head in eager agreement. Tsuande was suddenly reminded of how young these ninja were.

"Not now. You are dismissed. Relax, eat out. Enjoy yourselves."

The group saluted, "Yes ma'am!"

They scattered as Lady Tsunade stalked to her desk and sat down heavily. She wrenched open her sake cabinet and took a long drink.

"Lady Tsunade," Shizune asked softly, "I have only heard rumors—myths, really—of the infamous Star Clan. I wasn't aware they truly existed; I thought they were a children's tale to convince kids to behave."

"I would have agreed with you if I had not first-hand seen the carnage this clan can do."

"But, devouring souls? The Path of the Demon? Surely these sound almost fictional to me."

"I wish it was fictional. Never have I seen nine assassins—I refuse to refer to them as ninjas—do so much damage. I was once said that they were too mad for one world so they had a second one."

"Weren't they exterminated?"

"We had hoped so. We only succeeded in driving them out, never to be seen again."

"Shit." That was the first time Tsuande ever heard Shizune curse.

"Let's get ready to question the ninjas at the hospital." Tsunade said finally and took another swig of her sake.


	8. Boyfriends and Grandmothers

Tsubaki woke in a comfy bed with a throbbing headache and a sore body. Against her better judgment, she opened one indigo eye and surveyed her surroundings. Light blasted in through a nearby window-it hit the tan, tiled floor. It didn't improve her headache. Tsubaki pushed herself into an upright position while pushing her long hair out of her face. Her clothes crinkled with the effort. _ Crinkled?_ Tsubaki looked down. Her clothes were gone! She was in a white hospital gown patterned with kunai.

"B-be careful." A soft voice cautioned.

Tsubaki turned to the source of the voice. It was a girl around her age with dark blue hair and fair skin. The girl wore a lavender jacket and navy pants. She sat in one of the wooden chairs that lined one wall of the room.

"I'll be okay!" Tsubaki replied cheerfully.

"Alright…" The girl shifted in her seat; she looked uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, but do you know where my clothes are?" Tsubaki asked as she turned and slipped out of her bed, trying to ignore her headache.

Hinata stood and made her way to a nearby dresser. She produced a folded pair of clothes from the top drawer. Tsubaki approached Hinata, and she took the clothes. Upon closer look, she noticed that Hinata's eyes were unusual—they were pale and pupiless.

"Is it alright if I change?" Tsubaki went to the corner of the room.

"Sure." Hinata averted her eyes.

"So where am I?" Tsubaki asked while removing her hospital gown.

"You are at the Konoha Hospital." Tsubaki didn't know what to think.

"What happened to me?" Tsubaki asked, slipping on her main clothing: a shirt with stitching and shorts.

"Well, some of our ninjas found you unconscious and took you here. B-but, there was a fight."

"A fight, with who?"

"A crazy ninja. He is also here in the hospital. After he heals some more, the ninja will interrogated."

"So, why you are here? I mean you're clearly not injured." Tsubaki stated as she pulled up her mismatched stockings.

Hinata fought a blush, "Actually I'm here to see h-how Naruto is doing."

"Naruto?" Tsubaki asked, while looking around the room.

There were two other beds in the large room. Hinata blushed and pointed to the middle bed. That one had a boy with spiky blond hair; the occupant in the bed closest to the door was covered with a sheet.

"O-Oh yes." Hinata's blush overcame her as she shifted in her seat.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Tsubaki's grin grew larger.

"N-no. Of course not!" Hinata said desperately.

Tsubaki left it alone and finished changing: she slung her black scarf on with a flourish and pulled her hair up.

"Hey Hinata," She began, not sure where to take the conversation, "Have you seen a boy with spiky blue hair? His name is Black Star."

"S-spiky blue hair, like a star?" Hinata seemed nervous.

"Yes!" Tsubaki was excited.

"Does he have a star tattoo-?"

Tsubaki jumped up and clasped her hands together, "With a scar going through it? Yes!"

"H-he might be over there in the bed closest to the door."

Hinata pointed to the third bed. Tsubaki left her seat and walked to the bed. If this was Black Star, then she knew what he was doing. He did this every morning. She knew his routine, they shared a room. Fighting a smile, she wrenched the ivory sheets off the bed. It was Black Star. He was curled up, in a hospital gown, cuddling a pillow.

"Get up sleepy head!" Tsubaki said, fighting a laugh.

"Five more minutes. I need five more minutes to be a total star today, Tsubaki." His familiar voice grumbled. He wriggled into a more comfortable position.

Tsubaki had the biggest grin, "Get up."

"Fine," Black Star sat up without being too much trouble, "Where are we, Tsubaki?"

"A hospital; don't worry. We're okay, now. Do you know why we're in a hospital?"

"No! I changed my mind! Five more minutes," He slumped back down.

"Well," Tsubaki crouched down and crossed her arms on the bed; she and Black Star were now at eye level, "Apparently, you got in a fight."

"Hmm, a big guy like me gets in a lot of fights. You can't expect me to remember every one, Tsubaki." His green eyes met Tsubaki's darker, bluer ones.

"Yeah?! A big guy like you has never gotten their butt kicked by someone like me before!" A furious voice came from the last bed; it was the boy with the spiky, yellow hair.

He leaped out of bed and strode across the room to Black Star and Tsubaki. Black Star slid out of bed while Tsubaki stood up. Naruto and Hinata might not have noticed, but Black Star had moved into a very subtle fighting position. Tsubaki moved in front of him; she didn't want a fight in this hospital. Besides, Hinata seemed nice.

Hinata jumped up from her chair, took a few steps forward, and murmured, "N-Naruto... are you okay?"

Naruto stopped and smiled at her, "Yeah, I'm fine!"

Hinata's blush overtook her face. She stepped back; Naruto didn't seem to notice. He moved up to Black Star until they were nose to nose. Black Star was a couple inches shorter, though, so it was more like nose to lower face. Hinata and Tsubaki hung back. Hinata looked worried while Tsubaki was slightly more bemused.

"Not another step, you two!" An authoritative and feminine voice filled the room.

Everyone's head snapped to the the source. It was a beautiful woman with blonde hair, and enormous bust, and a violet mark on her forehead. Her brown eyes drilled into the group. Black Star bristled with defiance. Tsubaki frowned and chose to simply put a calming hand on Black Star's shoulder. He did not relax. Behind her came a slender, worried-looking young woman with short black hair.

The blond-haired boy Naruto simply grinned and said to the imposing blonde woman, "Hey Granny Tsunade!"

There was no way that this woman Tsunade was a grandmother. From the look on her face, she didn't approve of the title.


End file.
